Dog of the Week: St. Milo

Hmmmm...

I wonder if there was an actual St. Milo

[quick google]

It appears there is a Blessed Milo of Selincourt.  But we will not be talking about him.  We will be talking about the Best Puppy in the World, our new puppy Milo.  

What a good boy he is.  Who else could come into our house, a house with a jealous, territorial Rosie, and win over everyone in such a short time - Mom, Dad, Max, A1, A2, Tante, Grandma, Morfar?  Who else would not let a bossy adopted older sister who barks or growls at the first paw print into any of her many claimed areas phase him?  Only Milo.  Who else could handle being stumbled over and told to "Sit!" and petted none too gently by a four-year-old by with grace and tolerance?  Only Milo.  Who else would settle in so quickly, happy to snuggle and romp and walk and play.  Happy just to be here?  Only our Milo.  

The last couple of days have not been easy.  Rosie wasn't as bad at their introduction as she could have been, but she certainly has not rolled out the red carpet and invited Milo to make himself at home.  I've had to make with the Dog Whisperer imitation and keep her in line.  I've had to shorten her leash, put her in a submissive position, and make her work for all the stuff she had been getting pretty freely - walks, food, pets.  And I've had to do it with two kids in the house (A2 came over for her very first sleepover), one of them fairly skittish around dogs.  

I've modified my walking posture so Milo is on my right and Rosie is on my left and they are both walking on short leashes.  They are pretty good together.  The only tension comes when Rosie decides to take a grass bath and Milo takes it as an invitation to play dominant.  And even then, today I noticed that Milo was taking the cue and not jumping and Rosie was getting used to his curiosity and wasn't growling. We've done lots of exercising both in the yard and on walks so that the puppy will be nice and tired and will sleep all night and not chew too much.   So far he's chewed on a couple of Max's wooden blocks and toys, but not really destroyed anything.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We're not sure if Milo was housetrained before.  It's a pretty safe bet, what with him only being seven months old, that a month at the Humane Society, he probably isn't now.  We've had one accident at our house and one at Tante's.  But he's picking up quickly on the idea that outside is the place to go, and seems to be able to hold his bladder and bowels for significant lengths of time, overnight at least.  He also really prefers our backyard, unlike Rosie who would mark as hers anything green outside the boundaries of our property and will save it up so she can.  

So this is our new addition.  I have no idea of his antecedents.  His face looks hound-ish to me in his ears and his profile.  His coloration is part Beagle (black/brown/white), part German Shepherd (the way the black blends with the brown down his back legs), part Boxer (brindle on his legs).  He's thin of build like a Dobe.  He could be any of these or all.  Or something completely different.  He has four brindle paws, but one of them is white at the tip, as if - J. says - it was dipped in bleach.  All of the pads on all four paws are black except those under the white part on the one paw.  Those are pink and and nails on those paws are white, unlike all the others on the of the other paws which are, again, black.  On his back feet, his has nails higher up on the leg that, instead of lying flat against the fur, stick out like spurs.  Very cute.

This guy is a keeper, and I'm glad he's a part of our family now.  Please pardon the fact that I haven't written any new reviews for a week or more.  I've been busy getting ready for him and enjoying him now that he's here.  

tags: dogs  mutts  shelter dogs  humane society